The importance of toys

As they grow up, children have different needs; they change their clothes and their food. But one thing remains the same: their pleasure to play. Games make children become active and attentive. They stimulate their senses, make them curious and determine them to know the world.

In addition, games prepare children for the next lessons. It is estimated that, once the child has reached 5 years, 90% of his mental patterns are already formed. So the key is that children should earn as much as they are small.

When I play with David, I spend wonderful moments and, at the same time, I help him to learn as much as possible. Usually I choose toys which make him pleasure, which attract him. At his age, David prefers toys that produce sounds, have many colors and lights.

There are famous those toys which reproduce animal sounds or other sounds of nature. Equally interesting are those who help children to learn letters and words.

I have noticed that in the relationship of David with his toys there are certain stages:

1. In a first stage, he gets familiar with the new toy, he observes it, and sometimes he is even a bit afraid of it (especially the toys that make noise).

2. The next step is to try the new toy- he takes it in his hands and makes a research closely to know it better.

3. In this stage he decides if he likes the toy or not. If it's interesting enough for him, David will always play with it. If it isn’t, he will leave it and he won’t use it too often in his games. Thus, he has a few favorite toys-especially cars and other toys which are not so interesting to him.

How to cheer up your little guy

Sometimes, adults think it is useless to take into serious the changing moods of their children, considering that they will pass and then everything will be OK again. But it is not quite so. In fact, children need to be encouraged to express their feelings since the early ages because this will help them later. Here are some ways I use to cheer up my little boy, David:

1. I help him to express his feelings. The first step to cheer up little children is to determine them to externalize their feelings and thoughts. Often I challenge my son to give me a smile, by dancing or singing for him. He looks at me a little surprised and then…I get what I want – his precious smile.

2. I use to change the environment.  Specialists advise parents to change the environment where the child uses to stay, in order to change his or her state of mind. So, sometimes I take David to a total new place. For him, this seems to be a real adventure. He looks everywhere and he is amazed by all the things he meets.

3. I try to find the perfect gesture. Every child is unique, and each parent gets to know his/her reactions, preferences and sensitive points. Some children cheer up immediately when they hear a song, are kissed or tickled. Other toddlers get amused when they hear certain words, are told original nicknames or are surprised with a good joke. A good tip is also a story invented by you according to the situation that provoked the small grief. Another idea is to watch together cartoons and to comment on what's going on-the kids love it when adults try to comprehend the small pleasures. All we need to do is to find that special secret that works for our child and we will be able to cheer him/her up immediately! 

4. I propose a great activity

Maybe the most important thing we can do for the happiness and good moods of our child is to spend quality time with him, to offer all our attention to and propose to do a nice activity together, whether we are talking about a sport or a hobby. The company of his parents is more than enough to bring a smile: no toy, cake, play on your computer or modern phone will ever replace your presence.

Learning to walk..

It may seem a little strange, but although David is 15 months, he still can not walk by himself. He doesn't have a health problem, he just doesn't trust himself and we think this is also because of his premature birth. However, at the age of 9 months and up to a month ago, David walked using a baby walker. Now I believe I didn’t do the right thing by keeping our little boy in that baby walker.

 Since I didn’t use it any more, David began to search for something to sustain him, he had a tendency to let himself down. At first he moved around using all his four members. He used to walk like this through the whole house and this made him a great pleasure.

Then he began to walk sustaining himself by walls, furniture or other objects. There are moments in which he falls down, but he rises quickly and continues his activity. 

Every day we make exercises, keep him by the hand and walk like this through the house. His likes this very much.

Sometimes he stays on his feet for a few seconds. He even takes a step or two. But then he looses his balance and falls. I realized that this phase of our child's life should be treated with patience, and one day the miracle will happen-David will walk on his own little feet. I just can’t wait that time!

Premature Birth

Childbirth is considered premature if it occurs before the 37th week of pregnancy. A normal pregnancy takes 40 weeks.  Most premature babies are born between 34 and 36 weeks of gestation.  Most of them will grow well and will have small effects (or not).

Many factors can influence the risk of premature labor: maternal infections, problems with blood pressure, pregnancy-related issues. There are two types of premature labor: those that are accidental and medical ones which are due to the health of the mother or fetus.

Premature baby is exposed to more problems because their functions are immature: respiratory system, heart, brain, hematology . . . After birth, the baby may be hospitalized for a few days or weeks in the newborn unit of hospital.

At the hospital, once baby's condition is stabilized, mom can take care of him or her, she can touch or feed. After hospitalization, premature babies often need special medical monitoring in order to detect possible developmental problems and to begin appropriate treatment. Some babies will not need any treatment. This happened to our baby, as well. David didn’t need any special care. It is true that during hospitalization, which took 2 weeks, he stayed into incubator, but he didn’t need any supplemental oxygenation or something else.

Breastfeeding him was a problem, because he didn’t have the necessary force for that and I had to feed him using a tea spoon. Another little problem was the prolonged jaundice, which he had for almost a month. We got a little scared, but the doctors said it is a normal consequence of the premature birth. We had to give him vitamin B and then everything was OK. Thank God, there weren’t any other problems! Even at the beginning, he was very little (only 2000 g), David turned to be an absolutely normal baby, with a normal evolution.

From a mom's heart to other moms!

 David was a premature baby. It was an unexpected event that frightened me a bit, but, with God's help, we managed to get through all the problems. So that I decided to make my own blog - to share my experience with other mothers. Being a parent is an awesome thing, with many happy moments, but also with problems that can be solved if you find suitable advice. Many times when I had questions, I looked for help from other people’s experience and so I found adequate solutions. That is why I consider that now is my turn to share my modest experience with others. And who knows? Maybe I manage to help some people! I wish this so much!

Being a mom is truly an amazing experience. I remember with nostalgia the moments after I gave birth - with all the physical pain I was feeling, it seemed to me that the whole heaven came into my soul. I was extremely happy! I had brought to this world one little soul! The meeting with your own baby is magnificent: you just can’t believe that you hold this miracle in your arms, that God gave you this little creature to take care of him/her...Then the two of you begin to learn from one another, your angel teaches you how to take care of him/her and this one learns from you how to become a good person. No matter the problems that arise along the way - colic, sleepless nights, fatigue - all just disappear when you see your baby smile.

There are a lot of happy moments for a mom! First, you're enjoying that your baby is healthy and is growing normally. Then you go on with the little steps that your angel makes every day - the first babbles, then the appearance of the first tooth, later – walking on his own feet. It's great to see all these and to notice that the baby of a few pounds grows, becomes more and more powerful and more curious. And their world, of our children is a magical one – full of innocence and smile. Every day, parents have something to learn from their kids!